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Gov. Brewer: High court 'vindicated' heart of Ariz. immigration law

"The key components of out efforts to protect the citizens of Arizona, to take up the fight against illegal immigration in a balanced and Constitutional way, has unanimously been vindicated by the highest court in the land," Brewer said in a press conference shortly after the court announced its decision.

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While the court's split ruling upheld what Brewer referred to as "the heart" of Arizona's immigration law — a provision allowing police officers to check the immigration status of people stopped on suspicion of unrelated, deportable offenses — the justices sided with the Obama administration on three other challenges, rejecting much of the law.

The decision gave both sides in the contentious debate over immigration a win and insured the issue would remain front and center in the run-up to November's elections.

The president issued a statement after the court's ruling saying he was “pleased” with the decision, but also called on Congress to comprehensively take on immigration reform.

“A patchwork of state laws is not a solution to our broken immigration system — it’s part of the problem,” Obama said.

Despite the court rejecting most of the immigration law, Brewer said the state was prepared to defend against future challenges over the “show me your papers” provision and expected them to be resolved in Arizona's favor.

"This certainly is not the end of our journey, we fully expect lawsuits to be filed and that this portion of the law be challenged. And we will be getting ready and prepared if that takes place," she said.

Brewer also used the ruling to again hammer the federal government, claiming its policies on illegal immigration had failed and compelled Arizona to act.

"Arizona did not ask for this fight, nor did it seek out the task of having to confront illegal immigration," Brewer said. "We cannot forget that we are here today because the federal government has failed the American people regarding immigration policy."